Montgomery County Community Foundation and Early Childhood Coalition
A Community Bands Together to Increase Child Care Capacity
Montgomery County Community Foundation and Early Childhood Coalition
Nearly 100 people attended the April groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the new Montgomery County Early Learning Center. A transformational community project that will change the child care landscape in Montgomery County, the 15,000-square-foot center will open next spring and offer 125 high-quality child care seats for infants through preschoolers. “It was pure excitement,” said Kelly Taylor, CEO of the Montgomery County Community Foundation (MCCF). “The energy in the room was pretty amazing to experience.”
For Taylor and many others involved with the Montgomery County Early Childhood Coalition, a leadership initiative of the MCCF, seeing those first shovels dig in was a huge milestone for a project that has been years in the making. In 2019, community stakeholders, including local government officials, employers, providers, parents, schools and nonprofit organizations, formed a child care task force. Troubled by the lack of child care availability and the limited number of high-quality seats available, the group focused on finding tangible solutions to expand child care options.
“We were able to start the conversation in our community with employers and local government, and they see the need and hear about the impact of lack of child care from their employees,” Taylor said.
“A lot of our work is bringing those partners together in search of creative solutions.”
- Kelly Taylor CEO at Montgomery County Community Foundation
A soon-to-be vacated county government building piqued their interest. “We would talk and dream about how we could address this capacity issue. I happened to learn about a county government building that was going to be empty and well, we just went for a drive one day,” Taylor laughed. “We started a conversation to see if the site would even be a possibility, and everyone’s heads just started shaking yes and yes.”
Add in the hiring of a dedicated early learning director at MCCF, a few well-timed grants and funding opportunities, and local employer expansions, and the timing was right to create a new center. The spacious building, located just south of downtown with easy access to local schools and employers, is undergoing a complete renovation to exceed state licensing requirements and ensure a safe, engaging environment where children can learn and thrive.
MCCF considered various options for operating the center and ultimately partnered with KinderCare to staff and manage the facility, tapping into the organization’s 50 years of expertise in providing child care, developing research-based curriculums and focusing on child development. “A key reason for choosing KinderCare is they do have supports in place for recruitment. I can continue to work to support our current providers while KinderCare manages the Early Learning Center,” said Lisa Walter, MCCF early learning director.
Support for the project has come from a unique partnership of local government, community organizations and major area employers like Penguin Random House, Tempur Sealy and Nucor, all willing to elevate the issue of child care availability and provide the investment and resources to create long-term, sustainable solutions.
As significant as the new center is, it’s only one piece of the puzzle in solving the child care challenges that exist countywide. The Early Childhood Coalition is also focused on supporting existing providers in improving child care quality and increasing capacity, increasing opportunities for school-aged children and spreading awareness of child care options. Highlights include:
- Professional Development Workshops: Child care providers asked for more training, development opportunities and chances to connect and network in-person. In response, MCCF created a professional development series, now in its third year. The workshops are free to child care providers, held on weeknight evenings with a catered meal and $100 worth of supplies for all attendees. The topics are chosen based on direct provider feedback and are presented by an engaging expert speaker. “It’s a night to celebrate and uplift the teachers and make them feel special and important,” said Taylor. With initial attendance around 20 providers, the series now regularly fills its capacity of 60 spots and has become an integral part of MCCF’s programming.
- Summer Camps: “Summer camp is my passion project,” said Walter.
“We know that summer care is extremely limited for school-aged kids, so we wanted to try to address that for working parents.”
- Lisa Walter Early Learning Director at Montgomery County Community Foundation
The result of more collaborative conversations and a supportive community? A 10-week long, full-time summer camp program for kids ages 5-12, now in its third year. The camp is staffed by current educators and college students studying education and offers weekly field trips, a STEM lab and an engaging themed curriculum each week. Crawfordsville Parks and Recreation came on board as a host site, and local school districts provide lunches and transportation for field trips. “It’s a true community partnership with many hands involved. It’s been growing every year and has just been a wonderful program,” said Walter.
- Inaugural Family Fun Day: Another important piece of the puzzle is making sure families are aware of the child care options and supports available. It turns out that if you host a family fun day with hands-on art stations, book giveaways, bubble and chalk stations, and touch-a-truck options (a fire truck, a tractor, police cars, a planter, a wrecker and a school bus!), families with young children will turn out in droves. Nearly 600 people attended the inaugural Family Fun Day in April at Crawfordsville High School. While the kids played, parents had access to 25 vendors sharing early childhood resources including free car seat checks, information on child care and preschool options from local school districts.